Today's Opinions

I have recently been thinking about the church. Not just local churches like Shelby Christian, where I minister, but the church nationally and globally – and about the impact it is (or isn’t) making in the world.

The names Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth will forever be linked in the first-ever assassination of a U.S. President.

Not so well remembered are the eight co-conspirators in the assassination -- one of whom grimly became an historic first herself.

It was 144 years ago Tuesday in Washington that, alongside three of the other conspirators (George Atzerodt, David Herold and Lewis Powell), Mary Surratt became the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government.

Many of you read Scott McDaniel’s recent story on Mary Surratt (“The Story of the First Woman to be Hung by U.S. Government” 7/8/2009) who was found guilty of conspiracy to murder President Lincoln. I dare say, however, that only a handful of people know of the Shelby County connection to Mrs. Surratt. The connection is my great-great grandmother Emily Barry, but first, you need some history of the Surratts.

My family loves Disney World. One of the things they love about it is pin trading.

For the uninitiated, pin trading is a sport at Disney World where you buy pins that depict various Disney characters, rides or experiences and then you display them on a lanyard that is worn around your neck (or held by your dad when you’re riding a roller coaster). Then you take the pins you have purchased and trade them with other people.

Last year, amid the incredible learning moments I observed in classrooms and conversations with parents, teachers and community members, I heard one thing clearly: “We all want to move our students to attain even higher levels of achievement.”